In Re Title USA Ins. Corp.

The Insurance Commissioner of the State of California (the Insurance Commissioner) was appointed as the conservator and liquidator of Title U.S.A. Insurance Corporation (Title U.S.A.) in a proceeding brought under section 1010 et seq. of the Insurance Code. [1] The Insurance Commissioner filed suit against the law firm of Armato, Gaims, Weil, West & Epstein (Armato) to recover from it money it obtained pursuant to a judgment against Title U.S.A. for unpaid legal fees. The trial court concluded the Orange County Superior Court commissioner who appointed the Insurance Commissioner as liquidator of Title U.S.A. lacked authority to do so and entered judgment in favor of Armato. We reverse.

Title U.S.A. was a title insurance company, incorporated in Texas and licensed to do business in California, which became insolvent. Its principal California office was in Irvine. It was licensed to do business in several other states and liquidation proceedings were commenced in at least nine states, including California and Texas.

On August 15, 1989, Armato sued Title U.S.A. in Los Angeles County Superior Court to recover unpaid legal fees. Title U.S.A. maintained a bank…